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Dr. Shah, Doctor

Category: Health

Satisfied Customers: 3898

Experience: Years of experience in patients' management.

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I am having pain at the top of my sternum, very tight

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Hi,I am having pain at the top of my sternum, very tight feeling. I have no history of any cardiac issues. I had EKG, ECG and stress test done back in January because I thought I was having palpitations, everything was normal. The pain just started this morning. Pain parallel to top of my breast. I am 5 weeks pregnant.

Hello,Welcome to JustAnswer!Thanks for your question. Please provide me the following information so that I can address your concern appropriately.How severe is your pain in 1 to 10 scale? Do you feel pain when you press in that area? Any acid reflux, heartburn, nausea? Is it a burning type pain?

Thank you for the information.I am sorry to hear about your symptoms.Based on your description, you seem to have pain and tenderness in your sternum without any other associated symptoms. This kind of presentation is usually not related to heart problems. Moreover, you have been evaluated for it with no major concerns. Overall scenario favors the possibility of costochondritis which can present like this. This is a benign condition and is not considered life threatening. In many cases, it goes away on its own. You can talk to your doctor about it.Please let me know if you have any other question for me.

You need rest and OTC pain meds. Tylenol is safe to use during pregnancy, you can take it if needed. Doing some stretching exercise is also helpful. You can also use heating pad in that area for symptomatic relief.

Thanks! This is unrelated to the other question. I had beta HCG levels checked recently, the first one 18 days past ovulation was 1088 and second one 22 days past ovulation was 7300. Is this too high? My dates accurate because I went through IVF.

Thanks for asking this question.This is a pregnancy related question and it should be answered by a certified OB/GYN.We do have OBG in our site. You will have to open a new question and send it to OB/GYN category. In that way your question will be addressed appropriately.I am sorry, I am not certified in that area.Take care.